Mike Dowling is an Emmy-nominated producer, military technical advisor for film and television, published author and a leading veteran advocate.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area to an Irish immigrant father and Hispanic mother, Mike enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001 and was at boot camp when the horrific 9/11 attacks happened, changing the trajectory of his military service.
He was assigned to be a military policeman, graduating at the top of his class as the Distinguished Honor Graduate. In 2004, Dowling and his military working dog Rex were part of the first Marine Corps K9 teams deployed to Iraq, and the first sent to the frontlines of combat since Vietnam.
Dowling and Rex were attached to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines surviving the Triangle of Death and the First Battle of Fallujah. His book “Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between A Marine and His Military Working Dog” (Atria Books/2011) is a memoir of his service as a K9 handler.
Mike’s last active-duty assignment was with the Wounded Warrior Battalion West-Naval Medical Center, San Diego. He worked with wounded warriors throughout their rehabilitation process, facilitating all therapeutic events and curating resources available to recovering Marines and their families.
Upon his discharge from the Marines in 2010, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. A natural leader, Dowling established a nonprofit organization to provide military veterans with career opportunities in Hollywood.
He has been a military consultant on a wide range of film and television productions for CBS, ABC, Netflix and Animal Planet. He worked with Academy Award-winning producers James Moll and Robert Zemeckis on the Medal of Honor docuseries (2018) and was the military advisor for Causeway (2022), starring Jennifer Lawrence, and Emancipation (2023), starring Will Smith.
Dowling was a segment producer for Participant Media’s Pivot TV (2014) and then produced digital media at We Are The Mighty (2015-2017), helping the organization grow to be one of the largest military media outlets in the nation.
He was part of the producing teams for the U.S. Veterans Affairs “Make the Connection” and “Veterans Crisis Line” campaigns connecting thousands of veterans to mental health services (2011-2013). Since then, he has produced several PSA’s and short documentaries supporting the veteran community, including:
Shakespeare's Henry IV: Built By Veterans (starring Tom Hanks)
STOP THE LINE - The Dr. Russi Story (Emmy-nominated)
In a collaboration with fellow Marine Maximillan Uriarte, Dowling produced Post: Frag Out, a comedic short, animated film about Marines that was rendered almost entirely in Unreal Engine, the most powerful 3D creation tool.
In addition to his work in entertainment, Mike has been a dedicated veterans’ advocate and serves on the board of directors at Hounds and Heroes, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that pairs disabled veterans with service dogs, while also serving on the President’s Advisory Board for the Battleship USS IOWA Museum.
He has been awarded Veteran of the Year in California’s 46th District, named to HillVets Top 100 Military Veteran Influencers, and to We Are The Mighty's Mighty 25 annual list.
